


Scars

by itzaimster



Category: Terminator Genisys (2015)
Genre: Gen, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-10 02:23:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4373573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/itzaimster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyle Reese has many scars, none more recent than the one on his left ankle. This is how he got it.</p><p>(Prequel to Terminator: Genisys)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scars

_Why wasn’t he dead?_  
They’d had plenty of time. The terminators had stumbled on his outpost camp nearly three days ago. He hadn’t slept a wink since.  
It didn’t make sense.  
_Why wasn’t he dead?_  
Instead he’d been herded into the San Francisco concentration camp. His barcode scanned like merchandise and put in a metal crate with nine other terrified humans. They didn’t know what fate awaited them, but he did.  
John had told him. Over and over again. The terminators wanted one thing and one thing only – to terminate humankind. It’s what they were built for. Yet instead of terminating these people locked up with him, he knew they would borderline care for them. Keep them alive as long as they could so they could be used as lab rats. Not to further their technology – they no longer needed humankind for that – but to work out ways to more successfully infiltrate their camps and terminate all the more.  
All in the hopes of terminating John Connor.  
Now, as John’s second in command, he’d been stupid enough to let himself be caught. He wasn’t even sure how it had happened. How he hadn’t seen it coming. How he didn’t realise the guard dog was already dead…  
The recklessness made him hit the bars in frustration. The only one still dressed in armour, it made the other prisoners wary. He didn’t mean to scare them but his need to get out of the makeshift cell and do some terminating of his own was making him pace. The unwavering stares from the machines passing by weren’t helping, and it took him some time to even realise that it was happening.  
_Why would machines stare?_  
It only reiterated how unnerved he was becoming when another machine opening the cage startled him. He hadn’t seen this one coming either.  
“Stay back!” he ordered the people with him, most already huddled against the back wall.  
He stood firm as the T-800 skeletal figure opened the door and its eyes scanned the group.  
“Kyle Reese.”  
A chill ran down his spine when the machine said his name. He didn’t know why he was surprised. They made it their mission to know everything about everybody that might be a threat.  
“Come with me.”  
His eyes scanned the horizon. No other machines seemed to be paying any attention. While they’d disarmed him of any loaded weaponry, he still had a blade in his hilt. If he could get himself alone with this terminator, he just might be able to cut the circuits leading to the skull and disable the main frame.  
“Come with me Kyle Reese,” it was getting impatient.  
Knowing he was putting the other hostages in danger if he didn’t, he stepped out of the crate. Already there was a gun pointed at him. He recognised the model and knew the lasers would hurt, but he’d dealt with them before and he would again if he had to.

The machine led him through the camp and into an elevator that took them underground. The machine was careful to stay behind him and focused the entire time. When the elevator doors opened again, it took hold of him by the collar and forced him forward. The hallway was short and he was pushed into a room to the left.  
“Remove your clothes,” the machine ordered, gun aimed sharp.  
“Why?” he demanded within a breath, taking the moment to look around the room.  
It was a theatre. Surgical lights lined the ceiling, lasers stood at the ready. A steel table was its centrepiece.  
This was only going to end in blood.  
He could feel his dagger burning against his leg, and he knew he wasn’t going to have much time to use it.  
“Remove your clothes.”  
“Why?!” he repeated louder, turning to the machine this time so it would recognise he was talking to it.  
“The biological scanning mechanism will not penetrate through your armour. You must remove it.”  
He squinted toward the machines by the table, seeing the lens above and putting two and two together.  
“Bio scans?” he couldn’t hide his confusion, “why are you scanning me? I’ve been here before, when I was a kid!”  
He backed further into the room when a second terminator appeared in the doorway. The first didn’t bother making room for it.  
“Your previous scans were merely for identification purposes,” the machine went on, “the biogenetic scans are part of a trial based on the formation of a new biological skin and tactical infiltration weapon.”  
He felt his breath catch in his throat. He’d never had a machine explain anything like this to him before. But aside from the unusual circumstance, what the machine was saying was making his blood run cold.  
“You’re planning to use me as a weapon?” he frowned, trying to understand.  
He really wished John were here to hear this.  
“No,” the machine corrected, “we will use your likeness. We will have no need for you once you have been scanned.”  
“So what happens to me then?”  
The machine paused, as if to be dramatic.  
“You will be terminated.”  
It took all the self-control he had left not to reach for his knife then and there. But just as soon, he suddenly realised…  
“So you need me alive?”  
And then he did pull the blade from its sheath. Only instead of attacking the terminator, he put it to his own throat.  
“I won’t let you use me as a pawn to get to John,” he said defiantly.  
The terminator turned its head slightly, and suddenly fired its weapon. The blast hit him square in the chest – sending a shockwave through his armour – causing him to be thrown back into the wall. The force made him drop the knife but aside from hitting his head he wasn’t greatly injured.  
The moment he got his wits back he looked for the knife and dove for it. But the terminator hadn’t needed to pause. It easily kicked the knife from his reach and it skidded underneath the table and across toward the door. As Kyle leapt for it again anyway the machine used its free hand to take hold of the back of his armour and pull him to his feet.  
“The development of biological replicating technologies is inevitable,” it spoke, “with or without your contribution. Fighting is meaningless.”  
“Maybe for you,” he panted, knowing he was unable to free himself.

As the first machine held him, the second came to remove his armour. Once it had been broken and removed, he could only remember a single time in his life when he’d ever felt this vulnerable.  
The day he’d met John.  
He needed to survive this. He needed to get back to John and warn him that they had a new plan.  
He needed a way out.  
But he needed time to think. The only way to do that was to co-operate.  
So once the armour had been taken, at the machine’s order he removed his own clothes. The table was cold despite the heat radiating from the machines, and he triple checked that there was nothing to hurt him as he lay down.  
Maybe he could beat them from the room. Lock them in behind him. There hadn’t been any other machines in the hall. He knew the combinations on the elevator now and he could make it to the surface himself.  
He jumped as the lights above came on, and a red scanner immediately worked its way over his face and made its way down. The scan was quick and he was instructed to roll over onto his stomach. He left his hands flat as his nose breathed fog onto the steel, and he closed his eyes as he ran over the plan in his head.  
What he didn’t expect once the scan was done was for a sharp pain to pierce his right side. As he yelped and tried to deflect it the terminator to his right held both his arm and his chest in place. All he could see was a steel rod protruding from another piece of tech in the room.  
_Was he too late?_  
“What is that?!” he grunted through the pain.  
“We need to collect a sample of your DNA for comparison purposes,” the first machine responded.  
His mind raced. If he couldn’t get out of the grip the machine had on him, they could easily kill him then and there. His vain attempts to budge the metal went unheeded and he could feel a lump forming in his throat.  
If John went down for this, it would be all because he’d been stupid enough to be caught. John’s life depended on his escape. _Would Sarah give up?_ No. She’d fight to the last breath. And so would he.  
Once he felt the rod pull back he could also feel the adrenaline returning. He kept his eye on the machines as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. They appeared to be confirming that the scan had been successful. His eyes shot to the door knowing that if he could at all use the distraction the time would be now.

He leapt from the table and ran for the door. He didn’t see the machine’s foot extend to trip him. He landed hard on the ground as he felt cold metal fingers encase his left ankle, but he soon realised he was suddenly within reach of the knife he’d dropped.  
He immediately grabbed the hilt and twisted to launch it into the skull of the T-800. Three fast twists and the circuits started to short.  
By now he’d caught the attention of the second terminator. With the first one down he was unable to pry the metal fingers from his ankle, and desperately dragged it toward to door to take it outside with him. The second terminator aimed its weapon just as the door slammed shut, and Kyle had to duck as the blast hit the metal causing it to buckle.  
Thankfully the corridor was still empty. He took a moment to cut through the circuits that led into the machine’s fingers and finally managed to pry his ankle free.  
Cursing that he’d left his clothes in the room he scrambled to his feet and bolted for the elevator. The sound of the terminator attempting the break the door down – having broken the lock with the earlier blast – echoed loudly and Kyle knew something else was bound to hear it.  
He desperately punched the button until he could hear the mechanics moving, keeping one eye behind him at all times. The elevator doors opened and he ducked inside just as the door to the scan room came free.  
Flattening himself against the wall he desperately hit for the doors to close as the machine scanned the hallway for him. They locked eyes in the last second and Kyle could see it turn toward him.  
Frantically he punched in the code he’d seen used to get the elevator to move, then hit for the ground level. The moment he hit the button a dent appeared in the doors making him flinch back. He returned to the side before the lift could start moving knowing that another blast was going to come, and sure enough it did. The doors buckled so much he wondered how he was going to get out.  
But the lift was moving. He now had to figure out how to navigate the surface camp.  
He’d done it before – as a kid – but things were different now.  
The elevator arrived at the floor, and just as suspected the doors wouldn’t open. Instead he looked to the ceiling and focused on the emergency hatch. He was just tall enough to reach it.  
Gunfire from outside made him hopeful he’d have a distraction. He wasn’t sure where the hatch was going to lead him, but he didn’t really have another choice. He ended up crawling through the mechanics in the high end of the chute – keeping a careful eye to make sure nothing metal moved – before finding a ventilation shaft. He barely fit inside but he soon located a chilly draft that he knew would lead him into the outside air.  
He paused at the vent, again momentarily worried about being naked, until he heard an unexpected shout…  
“KYLE?”

“John?” he frowned to himself, before realising what the gunshots actually were.  
It was a rescue party. John had come to get him.  
With a new surge of adrenaline he broke through the vent, falling the extra five foot or so to the ground. There were no machines in the immediate area, they were all distracted by the assault in the distance.  
He quickly took in the scene. Soldiers had surrounded a Spider Tank to his left and were struggling to take it down. A truck sat before him with an assault canon aimed on the compound with a soldier at the helm, and to his right lay a clear avenue to freedom.  
But plans had changed. He needed to find John.  
Without any direct threat he cupped his hands to his mouth.  
“JOHN?!”  
“REESE!” one of the soldiers on the Spider Tank assault heard him, “GET TO THE TRUCK!”  
Kyle didn’t wait. He bolted across dusted dirt and leapt into the cargo hold. The first thing he spotted were some assault rifles, and beside them lay extra armour. Under the armour were clothes.  
He quickly pulled some pants on and was preparing to grab some chest armour when someone jumped into the hold with him.  
“John?” he looked up in surprise.  
“Glad to see you safe,” he insisted, “is there anyone with you?”  
“No, I’m alone,” Kyle struggled the breathe.  
“Good. Now let’s get you and everyone else out of here.”  
“Why are you here?!” Kyle frowned, quickly doing up the shirt before grabbing the armour, “how many people did you-“  
“It doesn’t matter,” John insisted, “let us focus on our retreat. Wait here, I’ll come back for you.”  
“But-“  
“Wait here!” John’s voice rose, “that’s an order!”  
Kyle blanched, and just like that John disappeared into the night. He stood dumbfounded for a moment before securing the armour and taking up a rifle. Just because he’d been ordered to stay put didn’t mean he couldn’t aim out the back.  
It wasn’t long before John had rounded the soldiers up and they’d joined Kyle in the back, giving their comrade some positive back pats and a couple ‘hey you’re alive!’ smirks. John didn’t return to the back, opting to secure the truck from up front. Now that he wasn’t alone Kyle stepped aside and let the others shoot from the back. He took a seat in the corner and decided to use the drive to get his head together.

They were driving for about a half hour to get back to their base camp, and Kyle almost fell asleep in the meantime. Soldiers were asking questions but he insisted he needed to speak to John first. He didn’t want to cause unnecessary panic, and John was the one who needed to know they were going to come for him. As soon as the truck came to a stop he was one of the first out and he headed straight for the cab.  
John met him on the ground with a smile. Now that they were out of danger he’d reverted back to himself.  
“John-“  
He pulled Kyle into a hug before he could go on. Kyle knew better than to break it and let the commander have his moment. When he finally pulled away Kyle could barely contain himself.  
“I’m glad you’re okay,” John assured.  
“I mean this with the utmost respect, Sir,” Kyle was nervous, “but you’re a moron.”  
“Excuse me?” John frowned.  
“Why did you come for me? I’m just one man!” he insisted, “why would you risk everything?! They have a new plan to get to you, and you just handed yourself over!”  
John took a quick glance around to make sure no one was listening, before putting a hand on his shoulder and pulling him to the other side of the truck. Kyle took the moment to breathe and to try and calm down.  
“You can’t just do that, you’re too important,” he scolded.  
John simply smirked.  
“What?” Kyle demanded.  
“Nothing,” John had an odd look in his eye, “it’s nothing I promise. What plan are you talking about?”  
Kyle glanced over his shoulder to reiterate that they were alone, and put his hands on his hips.  
“It’s some kind of bio imitation tech,” he shook his head, “I only know what they told me. They scanned me and took my DNA and it sounds like they want to use my likeness on a terminator. That’s weird, right? Unless they specifically wanted one that looked like me to infiltrate camp and come after you.”  
“It’s not weird at all,” John assured, “in fact I’ve already heard of something like this. A terminator that only needs a host DNA to imitate.”  
“You’ve heard of this?” Kyle’s brow rose, “why haven’t you told anyone?”  
“Because they don’t exist yet. No one would believe me,” John insisted before looking him in the eye, “I’m telling you this in confidence, Kyle. I don’t want to spread unnecessary concern.”  
“Of course not,” Kyle assured.  
“Thank you.”  
“But what happens if they come, looking like me?” Kyle was worried again, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but maybe I should leave. If you’re not expecting me to be around then you’ll know-“  
“Believe me, I’ll know,” John scoffed, not bothering to entertain the idea, “I don’t need to be worried about you out there in the world on top of everything else, understand me?”  
Kyle nodded, though he didn’t understand. He got that maybe John saw him as some kind of son he never had – Kyle had only been a boy when John had found him – but if it was beginning to jeopardise missions then it was becoming a problem.  
But he wasn’t about to front up to John Connor, leader of the resistance, and tell him he had issues.  
Not yet anyway.  
“How will you know?” he asked instead, “they scanned everything. They’ll have all my scars.”  
“Then I guess we’ll have to make some new ones, won’t we?” John pulled his own knife from its sheath.  
Kyle ducked backward, caught off guard.  
“Is your foot okay? It looks hurt,” John crouched to the ground, changing the subject.  
“Uh… yeah,” Kyle shrugged, suddenly not sure he heard what he thought he’d heard, “the terminator grabbed it when I was getting away, it’s just bruised.”  
It was too fast to see, but he sure felt it. John reached out and made a jagged cut across the front of his ankle. Kyle cursed and jumped back further.  
“John what the hell?!” he leant against the truck, holding his knee as he couldn’t reach the foot.  
John just stood, somewhat proud of himself.  
“Now if I’m ever worried, I’ll ask you remove your boot,” he mused.  
Kyle wanted badly to scream ‘fuck you’ into his face, but held himself back. He hadn’t put the knife away yet.  
“Seriously?!” he demanded.  
John shrugged and put it away.  
“If it makes you feel better,” he smirked, “you’re welcome to punch me.”  
Kyle was tempted. But he didn’t think he could hit his commander. He couldn’t hit _John Connor_ and not feel guilty about it.  
“No,” he forced himself to say, “I know why you did it.”  
“Good,” John nodded, “now get yourself some proper clothes. We need to hold a briefing in the command centre.”  
“A briefing?” Kyle frowned again as he pulled the armour over his head, “for what?”  
“Our next initiative. The most important mission we’ve ever undertaken,” John revealed, “the mission that’s going to take down Skynet once and for all.”  
“Sounds big,” Kyle didn’t really believe it.  
“It will be,” John made to walk away, and paused.  
“I trust I can count on you to be by my side in Los Angeles for this one.”  
“Of course,” Kyle assured, “why wouldn’t I be?”  
John smiled before continuing on his way.  
“Good,” he said to himself.  
Kyle watched him go, before pulling off the worn shirt he’d quickly put on at the camp and using it to stunt the bleeding from his wound.  
He couldn’t imagine a world without Skynet, but it had to have something to do with your best friends not needing to take a knife to you just to prove who you were.  
It had to be better than this.


End file.
